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Everdalf
Everdalf (S. "Herd Tundra,"La, Hyvämetsästyksen Maa) was a flat and open plain covered in spring and summer with bogs, mosquitoes, thick grass, sedge and lichen. It lay between the Emyn Nimbrith and the Fen Tundra, and was bound on the west by the shores of Sheltered Bay and the Bay of Cracking Ice. During the green season, herds of elk and reindeer began migrating across it from south and east to north. They were joined on the open ground by deer and wild sheep from the Eriadorian borderlands. The plain sometimes seemed blanketed with the wandering animals feasting on the tundra grass. The migratory herds also traveled as far north as the Forsaken Sea and as far west as the Fire Tundra. The gathering of herds also meant a gathering of predators. Wolf packs were especially numerous. While most of the Everdalf was too far south for white wolves, their cousins of the Dire wolfs and Grey Wolf varieties gathered on the banks of both the Everhir and the Lhúchir from early spring to late autumn. Deadly warg-packs from Angmar troubled Talath Uichel and the Herd Tundra year-round. The birds migrated into southern lands in early winter. Some of the herds dispersed into the forests of Lakeland. Others moved south to shelter in the Emyn Nimbrith, the Wash Tundra and the Eriadorian highlands. Wherever the grazers sought shelter from the cold, the wolves followed. The year's first frost transformed the Herd Tundra into a sea of brown grass and hay. Fire could be a problem at this time of year, as the dry grass burned easily and was often set ablaze by untended camp-fires, lightning from passing storms or random acts of Orkish arson. Such blazes were capable of devastating miles of terrain before dying out, and were difficult to outrun when the wind was high. Only in late autumn did the heavy frosts and first winter storms eliminate the danger. At this time, the large animals had hidden themselves or fled south, and the rivers began to ice over. Hunting and fishing became more difficult; the Lossoth often had to rely on snow hares and other, smaller residents of the tundra to fill the stewpot. Winter brought a majestic desolation to the plain, discouraging Orc-raids by the cold and lack of prey. The Jäämiehet came to hunt the Herd Tundra in summer, and their camps were found primarily on the southern shores of Sheltered Bay and around the mouth of the Lhúchir. Travelers from the South often had difficulty telling the difference between the Lumimiehet and the Jäämiehet, who frequently hunted in combined parties, dividing the meat when they separated. The Jäämies camps were less open or friendly than those of the Lumimiehet, having less goods or time to spare for strangers. Ranging far from their accustomed homelands on the Cape of Forochel, the Jäämiehet were by necessity better equipped than the Lumimiehet. The Herd Tundra was known far and wide as simply "the Caru" (a Rhudaurian name for elk), and those from the South had to listen carefully to determine whether an Ystävä Talven was speaking of the animal or the region. Often the definition or meaning was self-evident; however, such phrases as "I hunt Caru" could prove ambiguous. Misunderstanding could lead to disaster, as related in the journal of Beregund, leader of an Arthadanian exploration party in the far North. The journal could be found in the archives of Annúminas and was required reading for young rangers in training. Most of Beregund's company were killed or captured by the Orcs "hunting the Caru," and only a small fraction of the original company was able to return to Fornost with the journal. Category:Plain Category:Tundra Category:Forochel Category:Forodwaith Category:MERP Category:Region